Atlantic City emergency manager to earn $135K

WAYNE PARRY, AP

Kevin Lavin, left, and Kevyn Orr, right, speak at a press conference in Atlantic City, N.J., on Thursday, Jan. 22, 2015, after New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie appointed Lavin as the emergency manager for Atlantic City and Orr as special counsel to Lavin.

Kevin Lavin, left, and Kevyn Orr, right, speak at a press conference in Atlantic City, N.J., on Thursday, Jan. 22, 2015, after New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie appointed Lavin as the emergency manager for Atlantic City and Orr as special counsel to Lavin. (WAYNE PARRY, AP)

Wayne ParryAssociated Press

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — Atlantic City, awash in debt and choking on high taxes, has a state-appointed emergency manager who'll be paid $135,000 a year to, among other things, oversee the mayor, who makes $103,000.

The goal: To save money.

In response to an open public records request from The Associated Press, the state's Community Affairs Department said Wednesday that corporate finance expert Kevin Lavin will make $135,000 a year as an employee of the department's Division of Local Government Services.

But the Community Affairs Department said Kevyn Orr, who is special counsel to Lavin, is not a department employee and could not say what he will earn. Orr was the emergency manager who helped Detroit through its municipal bankruptcy, for which he was paid $275,000 a year.

"The two Kevins," as they call themselves, will study Atlantic City's finances and recommend debt reduction measures to Gov. Chris Christie. The emergency order Christie used to appoint them on Jan. 22 leaves the door open for a possible bankruptcy filing for Atlantic City.

That possibility has led two leading Wall Street debt ratings firms to drastically downgrade Atlantic City's credit rating.

The two men began work on Wednesday in Atlantic City, touring the city, "meeting and talking with stakeholders," said Chris Filiciello, a spokesman for Atlantic City Mayor Don Guardian. The mayor, who makes $103,000 a year, has set up an office for the pair inside City Hall.

Michael Drewniak, a spokesman for Christie, could not immediately say for which branch of state government Orr works, or what his salary is.

"We expect that information will be available shortly," he told the AP.